Mad Men season 7 thread

He's just bitter that Laurie Partridge left him for President Santos back when he worked in L.A.

 

1969 McDonalds rolls The Big Mac out, nationally, to compete with Bob's Big Boy.

and this was McD's National campaign of 1969.

You deserve a break today...

 

Great, now he's going to take it out on the world by trying to kill Veronica Mars.

 

Watch him in Shameless, an old lecherous homosexual with a penchant for legal young men,

 

Yes, this show is a great example of what happens in advertising. Every agency is a mix of other agencies and they are either a bunch of letters strung together like SCDP or hyphenated names.

For example, there is a company called Campbell Ewald, which has also been referenced on the show a number of times. Recently the company has merged with a company called Lowe. Together they are Lowe Campbell Ewald. Of course, prior to that, Lowe merged with other agencies to become Lowe and Partners.

Meanwhile, Campbell-Ewald, Lowe and a company called Hill-Holiday formed an alliance to win the Cadillac business. Together they make up an agency called Rogue. Ironically, this merger to win Cadillac happened just as Mad Men was shaving SCDP merged with CGC to win Chevy from Campbell-Ewald (which in real life held the business for about 100 years, no exaggeration).

Here is another example using McCann which is referenced a lot in Mad Men. McCann (which is now McCann Ericcson) has an office in a city near Detroit. Three blocks away, a sister agency named MRM has an office. Earlier this year, they officially merged on a by name basis to MRM/McCann and have two offices. Down the street is a third building for the agency Universal McCann which has a different subset of competing automotive business.

And a third example, just sticking in Detroit. A bunch of other agencies referenced in Mad Men such as Ogilvy, J. Walter Thompson and some others merged many years ago to consolidate the Ford business. Across the globe they operate with separate offices, but in Detroit they combine to be "Team Detroit."

Of course, this just one city and these relationships and come and go as the business comes and goes. You can imagine how much things change when business is lost or one and offices in different locations grow and shrink. It is a constantly, confusing mess.

Now if you will excuse me, I am going to go to lunch to grab a lunch down by the Goodby Silverstein and Partners office. I'm pretty sure they are also owned by McCann and when they work on business together they go by the name of Commonwealth.

Like I said, confusing mess.

 

Didn't know he was in VM or Shameless. Funny that goody Goody Michael Cuzak went on to become typecast as a villain.

 

He's not really a villain on Shameless. Every adult character on that show has a certain morally casual attitude. His transgressions are fairly mild compared to some.

On Veronica Mars he was a handsome, charming movie star who, as time went on, we found out was actually abusive and murderous. On Mad Men he started out as Roger-lite, but wound up on the opposite end of an opposite conflict of the characters we've known the entire series. It's not like he's being typecast as a mustache twirler.

 

Another hidden gem, right after "I've overheard things" ...

Peggy, realizing Don is really serious about this, and that she needs to get it together, putting her face in her hands and sighing, even whining a bit, "We have no liquor."

 

While I certainly raised an eyebrow during the song and dance _ and I'm not convinced that it any way served as an omen for a happy ending for the living employees of SC&P or whatever the company is going to call itself _ I just kind of laughed about it because the show has seven or eight years of built up goodwill. I can't think of a show that I've watched from start to finish that has been more satisfying (I would include the Sopranos in that and I'm only halfway through and halfway into Breaking Bad). At this point, Weiner can do what he wants, unless of course the finale ends with something weird like Don telling his kids how he met Betty then having one of them go "Oh dad, everybody knows you and Joan should be together." Now that, well, that would piss me off.

 

I like the idea that he goes back to being Dick Whitman. Entertainment Weekly had a good q and a with Morse explaining the final song and dance. It's worth a look.

 

First off, that was an awesome episode, starting within the first 10 minutes when Don rumbles into Burt's office and they take a vote right in the hallway, with Don walking off with the majority.

Didn't really get the end. My perfect vision would be Don somehow getting screwed over but getting the last laugh. Another awesome 60s song of the era plays as the credits roll, letting us know that 'You don't fuck with Don Draper.' The best ending to an episode so far this season was the one where he accepts the contract and the Jimmy Hendrix song starts. That just had me saying, 'Kick ass!' Personally, I thought his episode ended a little too neatly and cutely.

So that's it for this half of the season? When does it start up again?

 

Yeah, if it turns out it was merely a tribute to and fond send-off for Robert Morse, and nothing more, I'm fine with that.

Thanks for the tip. Read it and enjoyed it.